1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a kit for outfitting stock motor vehicles with a sports theme to enhance the enjoyment of sporting events and tailgate parties and promote sports team enthusiasm.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Stock motor vehicle manufacturing and sports franchising are both big business concerns. Both industries budget huge sums of money to advertise and promote sales of their respective products to the general public or fans. For example, sports governing bodies, such as the National Football League, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, NCAA and the National Hockey League, routinely license their rights to allow marketing of official promotional items. Typically, a broad range of items are sold, such as sweatshirts, mugs, hats, pennants, or sports playing implements, each which usually bears the indicia of a sports team or sports figure, its logo or its trademark. Likewise, major stock motor vehicle manufacturers market their own trademarks and identifying indicia on promotional items in order to sell their stock motor vehicle and NASCAR related products.
Furthermore, many consumers are loyal fans, whether they be fans of a particular sports team or of a particular stock motor vehicle manufacturer, and over extended periods of time, spend a significant amount of money on both the paraphernalia promoting the product as well as the product being promoted, e.g. sporting event tickets, alumni activities, or stock motor vehicles. The present invention recognizes the benefit to the stock motor vehicle industry and the sports franchise industry by creating a means of promoting the merchandizing of both industries' products through a kit which may either be installed by the automobile manufacturer for sale with the vehicle or as a retrofit aftermarket product.
The prior art fails to reveal a stock motor vehicle that features a sports theme, or a kit to promote sports enthusiasm for use with a motor vehicle put to its ordinary use. U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,255 issued Jul. 22, 1986 to Marcotti describes a signal flag or pennant for use at sporting events consisting of an elongated flag staff on which is attached a hollow transparent flat envelope into which is inserted a flag, pennant or bumper sticker. After use, the bumper sticker may be removed from the device for application to a vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,017 issued Apr. 315, 1986 to Ostermiller also describes a sporting event flag that includes a fabric flag attached to a flagstaff and a structure for clamping it to an automobile.
Three U.S. patents to Baker each describe a vehicle that exhibits a sports related design, but none apply to vehicles for ordinary road use. U.S. Pat. No. D300,617 issued Apr. 11, 1989 to Baker shows an ornamental design in which a vehicle is wearing a football helmet over where the hood, windshield and passenger roof areas ordinarily would be found. This design would not only be unfeasible as a stock car modification, but would be unsafe and not aerodynamic. U.S. Pat. No. D231,911 issued Jun. 25, 1974 to Baker shows an ornamental design for a novelty cart in which the body is shaped like a baseball wearing a cap. U.S. Pat. No. D231,523 issued Apr. 30, 1974 to Baker shows an ornamental design for a novelty cart in which the body is shaped like a football helmet which displays a five pointed star.
U.S. Pat. No. D134,309 issued Oct. 1, 1941 to Robinson shows an ornamental design for an automobile body featuring a hood and fenders shaped and ornamented like a bird's head, wings and body feathers. U.S. Pat. No. D84,075 issued Dec. 15, 1930 to Doherty shows an ornamental design for an automobile body featuring silhouettes of horses, riders and dogs on the side and rear body panels. U.S. Pat. No. 1,592,557 issued Nov. 19, 1925 to Connor describes a chemical treatment and coating method of decorating sheet metal.
None of the above referenced inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.